Jumping loop having a crank arm and support means



T. J. RAMSEY Feb. 3, 1970 UMPING LOOP HAVING A CRANK ARM AND SUPPORT MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 6, 1967 INVENTOR- THUUAS J. RAMFEY BY p Feb. 3, 1970 T. J. RAMSEY 3,493,229

JUMPING LOOP HAVING A CRANK ARM AND SUPPORT MEANS Filed Nov. 6, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. THU/1A5 J. RAM-5E) BY/WJ AGENT United States Patent 3,493,229 JUMPING LOOP HAVING A CRANK ARM AND SUPPORT MEANS Thomas J. Ramsey, Neptune, N.J., assignor to Ramney Industries Corp., Farmingdale, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Nov. 6, 1967, Ser. No. 680,832 Int. Cl. A63b /22 U.S. "Cl. 27274 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An exercising device in the form of a rotatable loop for jumping in which said loop is formed of a rigid frame that will surround the individual utilizing the device. The frame is provided with a crank arm at its central axis and provided with means on either side exteriorly of said frame to support said frame for rotation in a predetermined fixed position such as a doorway.

This invention relates to an exercising device and more particularly a rotatable jumping loop that may be supported upon a fixed center to be propelled by the hands While jumping the swinging loop.

Jumping ropes are generally a length of rope held at either end by the jumper and swung in a rotary fashion over the head and jumped as they pass under the jumper. With a loose rope, the jumper cannot exercise indoors as the clearance required for the rope is easily changed especially in direction and damage to items within the home may result.

It is an object of this invention to provide a jumping loop that is fairly rigid in form and is rotated by a pair of off-set handles rigidly aifixed to said jumping loop and in which said jumping loop may be supported at its center for a balanced rotation of the loop when propelled by a jumper, to thus confine the swing of the loop of a definite pattern that will not endanger anyone or any object that is originally cleared from this pattern.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a jumping loop that is fairly rigid in form and is rotated by a pair of handles rigidly aflixed to said jumping loop and in which said jumping loop may be supported at its center between the jambs of a doorway, for a balanced rotation of the loop when propelled by a jumper to thus confine the swing of the loop to a definite pattern within and either side of said doorway.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a jumping loop for exercise in which said loop is comprised of a knock down loop frame that is quickly and easily assembled to provide a fairly rigid loop with a pair of handles rigidly affixed to said loop for rotating same and in which said loop may be supported at its center for a balanced rotation by a jumper.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a jumping loop that is comprised of a tubular body that is fairly rigid in form and is rotated by a pair of off-set handles rigidly afiixed to said jumping loop and in which said jumping loop may be supported at its center for a balanced rotation of the loop when propelled by a jumper and in which the outer extreme periphery of the loops may be provided with a wind pressure actuated whistle to be actuated when the loops are swinging.

Further objects of this invention may be apparent by reference to the accompanying detailed description and, the drawings in which FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of the exercising device mounted in a doorway,

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the framework of the exercising device,

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of a further embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the crank arm for actuating the device,

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of all elements of the device before assembly,

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the device taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 7 is a further embodiment of the device.

Referring to the drawings and particularly FIG. 1, there is illustrated an exercising device 10 mounted in a door way 11. The exercising device 10 is in the form of a rigid frame 12 formed as a loop pivotally mounted at its center 14 to be rotated by the individual utilizing the exercising device, the exercise performed being similar to that performed with a jumping rope. The frame 12 is provided with means to rotate frame 12, the means being a crank arm 15 mounted at the center 14 of the loop. The crank arm 15 as illustrated in FIG. 4 comprises a one piece arm 15 that is bent to form two oppositely disposed handle areas 16 and 17, both handle areas 16 and 17 being offset an equal distance from the center axis 14 and the arm 15 provided with T shaped ends 18 and 19. Crank arm 15 may be provided with rotatable handles 20 mounted on the handle areas 16 and 17 as Well as a pair of rotatable handles 20 mounted either side of the off-set portions of crank arm 15 as shown. With the crank arm 15 as described mounted to frame 12, this requires frame 12 to be formed in two halves 12A and 12B and in tubular form so that, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the half 12A may be mounted on the upper stem of the T ends 18 and 19 of the crank arm 15 while the lower half 123 may be mounted to the lower stems of the T shaped ends 18 and 19. The tubular loops 12A and 12B when mounted on T shaped ends 18 and 19 may be permanently affixed in any well known manner such as a tight friction fitting or with lock pins 22 inserted through the tube 12A and 12B as the case may be and through the stems of the T shaped ends 18 and 19 to retain the assembly in a fixed permanent relationship. Thus any rotation of crank 15 will propel the complete frame 12 in a similar rotation to the gyration of crank 15. To maintain frame 12 on a fixed center or axis for rotation as illustrated in FIG. 1, the- T shaped ends 18 and 19 are provided with an aperture 23 leading to a bore 24 within the crank arm 15 on either side of the crank. Dowel pins 25 are mounted through aperture 23 into bore 24 and protrude from either side of the frame 12 as illustrated in FIG. 1. A pair of suction cups 26 are provided. The suction cups 26 are formed with a solid end 27 into which there is a bore 28 so that pins 25 may be inserted in bore 28 to provide the central support for the rotation of frame 12. It is apparent that the suction cups 26 may be mounted at a correct height so that the frame 12 will clear the floor or threshhold 30' when the frame 12 is rotated. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the individual utilzing the exercising device may stand upon the threshold 30 within frame 12 and with both hands upon crank 15 as illustrated, by rotating the crank 15, the frame will similarly rotate and as the frame rotates the individual may jump as shown to provide a jumping device for exercrse.

Referring to FIG. 3 there is illustrated a further embodiment of this invention in which the exercising device 10 is reduced to a half loop 12A and the opposite side of the T shaped ends 18 and 19 of the crank shaft 15 are provided with a short tube 31 on which a weight 32 is mounted. The weights 32 provide a balance to the weight of loop 12A so that during rotation of the crank 15 it is equally balanced to provide easy rotation and the ability to be stopped at any point due to a perfect balance. In this embodiment the individual exercising is of course able to jump at a much slower rate due to 3 having only one loop passing over the head and under the feet of the individual.

A still further embodiment of this invention is illustrated in FIG. 7 in which the exercising device 10- is mounted between the same suction cups 26 which are affixed to a circular disc 27, which is the pivotal support for a stand 38. The stand 38 is provided with a pair of supporting legs 33 and 34. Thus with the stand 38 mounted as shown and the frame 12 mounted between the pivotal supports 27, the device 10 may be similarly used in any desired location.

With the rotation of frame 12, a whistling device 35 may be affixed or mounted Within the upper and lower or the extreme surfaces of tubes 12A and 12B. The whistling device 35 may be in the form of a small aperture 36 in the face of the tube facing the direction of rotation, the aperture 36 leading to a second aperture 37 in the top of the tube and by blocking the tube either side of these apertures, the air entering aperture 36 will provide a whistling sound as it exits from aperture 37. Thus the faster the individual rotates the device, the louder the whistling noise will be. Other decorative elements may be added to this device such as streamers 38A attached to the frame 12 to flutter in the breeze as the frame is rotated.

It is to be noted that frame 12 may be a one piece frame with the crank 15 also formed integrally with the frame. However for ease of shipment and distribution, the frame 12 may also be a knocked down frame as illustrated in FIG. that is easily assembled to provide an identical configuration or the ends 12A and 12B may be changed in their configuration, that is, the ends may be round or the ends may be squared 01f ,without departing from the spirit of this invention. It is also to be noted that the ends 12A and 12B may be cut off to provide a small exercising device for a small child or they may remain of a maximum length as long as they do not exceed the limitations of the doorway in which they are to be mounted. It is also to be noted that the tubular frame 12 may be formed of any of the well known light tubular elements such as plastic or aluminum or even a tubular textile as long as it provides a fairly rigid form that will retain its form and although a particular configuration of hand crank 15 has been illustrated, any form of crank whether attached at an offset position to tubes 12A and 12B or as described herein may be used without departing from the spirit of this invention and further, although a pair of suction cups have been suggested as means of retaining the exercising frame in a central position in a doorway it is to be noted that instead of the suction cups, a pair of rods may be inserted into the jamb of the doorway to similarly pro vide the support and likewise a pair of fixtures in place of the suction cups may be mounted between two jambs or two supports or any similar spacing between other equipment to permit the mounting of this device to be utilized as described without departing from the spirit of this invention and this invention shall be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An exercising device in the form of a rotatable loop for jumping which includes a frame that will surround the individual utilizing the device said frame being divided into two equal loops, said frame provided with a crank arm at its central axis, said frame rotatable about the central axis by said crank arm, means exteriorly of said frame on each side thereof supporting said frame for rotation by said crank arm, a pair of suction cups operatively connected to said means to retain said device at a desired height in a doorway for rotation.

2. In a device according to claim 1 in which one of said loops is removed to provide a single loop that is rotatable for jumping exercise and in which said loop is counter balanced by weight on the opposite side of said crank arm.

3. In a device according to claim 1 including a stand having a pair of supports to retain said device at a desired height and said exercising device operatively connected to said stand for rotation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 169,625 11/ 1875 Crandall 272-74- 2,493,224 1/ 1950 Brunt 272--74 2,919,919 1/1960 Ebb 272-75 3,064,972 11/ 1962 Feinn 272--75 3,074,717 1/1963 Lutz 272-74 3,107,916 10/ 1963 Cooper 272-74 3,118,666 1/ 1964 Fitch 27275 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner D R. W. DIAZ, IR., Assistant Examiner 

